Authorizing the Committee on the Judiciary to Initiate or Intervene in Judicial Proceedings to Enforce Certain Subpoenas

Floor Speech

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Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, the Trump administration is engaged in one of the most unprecedented coverups since Watergate, and it is not just about Russia. It is so much broader than that. This coverup spans across numerous investigations, and it extends from the White House to multiple Federal agencies of government to completely separate outside parties.

The administration officials now question the fundamental basis of Congress to conduct oversight. They object to committee rules and precedence that have been in place for decades under both Republican and Democratic leaders, and they make baseless legal arguments to avoid producing documents and testimony. The Trump administration is challenging the very constitutionality of congressional oversight, and it is happening in broad daylight.

Several weeks ago, President Trump vowed, ``We're fighting all the subpoenas.'' Since then, he has refused to work on legislative priorities such as infrastructure until Congress halts oversight and investigations of his administration. He wants us to forgo our responsibility under the Constitution as a condition of passing laws to help our constituents and his constituents.

The President's arguments are baseless. He suggests that all subpoenas that Congress puts out are partisan and somehow related to the Russia probe, but that is simply not correct. In the Oversight and Reform Committee, we have issued eight subpoenas: six of them are bipartisan and none of them are about Russia. They involve issues like the census, immigrant children being locked in cages and separated from their families, and the President's finances.

This entire year, the White House has not produced one document to the Oversight and Reform Committee. Let me say that again: In all of our investigations, the White House has not produced one single shred of paper in response to our requests.

The hurricanes in Puerto Rico, the White House has produced nothing. Security clearance abuses, the White House has produced nothing. Efforts to transfer nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia, the White House has produced nothing. Hush-money payments, the White House has produced not a thing. Even on issues like spending taxpayer dollars to pay for private jets, the White House has produced absolutely nothing.

Over and over again, it does not matter what the topic is, the tactics are the same. This begs the question: What are we covering up?

Tomorrow, our committee will vote on whether to hold the Attorney General and the Secretary of Commerce in contempt of Congress for refusing to produce documents relating to the Census. Again, these subpoenas are bipartisan, and this issue has nothing to do with Russia. Yet, the Trump administration has delayed, stonewalled, obstructed, and challenged the authority of the Congress on even those questions.

I support today's resolution because it makes clear that in addition to seeking criminal contempt on the House floor, committees may seek authority to enforce their subpoenas directly in civil court actions. Nobody is above the law.

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Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, nobody is above the law, not even the President of the United States.

Today's resolution reaffirms that Congress has the independent authority under the Constitution to investigate waste, fraud, abuse, and wrongdoing so that we can pass laws that are effective and efficient on behalf of all of our constituents.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the resolution.

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